KH6JRM, site administrator

I'm the retired news director for Pacific Radio Group (Hawaii Island). I'm a retired Lt. Col, USAF Reserve. I'm a licensed FCC Amateur Radio Operator holding the Extra Class Amateur Radio License. I'm also a substitute teacher for the state of Hawaii Department of Education.

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W5GI Mystery Antenna is a multi-band wire antenna that performs exceptionally well even though it confounds antenna modeling software. This antenna covers 80 to 6 meters with low feed point impedance and will work with most radios, with or without an antenna tuner. It is approximately 100 feet long, can handle the legal limit, and is easy and inexpensive to […]

Last week, a reader emailed me: Hey Dan! Hope this finds you well. I am seeking ideas about introducing third graders to ham radio. My daughter is into soldering and has an interest in radio with me. This came up and her teacher invited me to spend some time with her class toward the end […] The post What can you do with third graders? appeared first on KB6N […]

I attended the TMRA Hamfest earlier today. Here are a couple of things that happened. Got up at 6:00 am, so that I could eat something and have a cup of coffee before hitting the road at 6:30 am. It takes an hour to get to the hamfest site from where I live, and I […] The post Hamfest stories appeared first on KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog.

Telephone Museum Inspires Young Engineers to Take Things Apart. WALTHAM, MA—A city long known for mechanical timepieces now has a museum dedicated to electrical devices. The Telephone Museum opened here in November 2017. EE Times visited the museum on Feb. 22, 2018. Here, aspiring engineers can not only see historical telephones but learn about electricity, […]

Here’s something that I just wrote for a client. It’s not meant to be an in-depth article on different types of two-way radio systems, but I’d like to get your comments on it, especially the advantages and disadvantages of each service…..Dan Choosing the right two-way radio can be confusing. You can’t just buy a couple […] The post Which two-way radio servic […]

From the ARRL website: CEO Job Description ARRL, Inc., The national association for Amateur Radio with the objective of advancing the art, science and enjoyment of Amateur Radio, is seeking a full-time Chief Executive Officer for its headquarters in Newington, CT. The ARRL is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization with 159,000 members, an annual budget of [… […]

My brother, Wil, who is also ham radio operator AI4QT sent over a couple of Gamma Research Power Supplies for me to experiment with and use. This power supply is amazing considering its small size. In fact, the footprint is less than a QSL card yet has enough power to run a 100-watt transceiver. Click […]

I often get questions about how my CW progress is coming along and do I have any tips for learning CW so I decided to capture my thoughts in a video. As for my progress, I’m virtually 100% CW and enjoy QSOs in the 15-18 wpm range…comfortable for either a straight key or using my […]

In a previous blog post I mentioned I was building a 9:1 unun for a long-wire antenna. I just complete the project and the results were a little less than I had hoped for. The SWR was a little high on several bands…in the 2.5-3.2 range. That’s a little too high for me to feel […]

A brief thumbnail sketch of 10 and 6 meter activity from the QTH of Roger Lapthorn ( G3XBM). Roger had some success with 6 meters using the WSPR mode. Otherwise, activity on 10 meters was fairly light, with Roger working Spain, Germany, France, and Norway. Aloha de Russ (KH6JRM).

The deadline is April 30 for US schools, museums, science centers, and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to submit proposals to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with an orbiting crew member on the International Space Station (ISS). Contacts would be scheduled between January 1 and June 30 […]

The results of the 2017 ARRL November Sweepstakes CW are now posted on the ARRL website. Go to the Contest Results Articles page, and scroll down. Click on "2017 Contest Results" and then to “November Sweepstakes (CW).” The full results database is available.

Increase your station’s receive performance with new book Receiving Antennas for the Radio Amateur by ARRL author Eric P. Nichols, KL7AJ. Although the fundamental characteristics of antennas apply to both transmission and reception, the requirements and priorities of receiving antennas can be vastly different from those of transmitting antennas. Receiving An […]

No sunspots were observed between March 2 and March 15. One sunspot made a brief appearance on March 2, after a blank sun on March 1. Average daily sunspot number dropped from 1.6 to zero this week, and average daily solar flux rose fractionally from 67.6 to 67.7. We’ll be watching the latest sunspot appearance to see if it is as fleeting as the March 2 suns […]

Operating from countries outside the US can be a lot of fun. I just completed another another Slacker DXpedition, this time to the Cayman Islands. The formula for this type of operation is simple: identify an interesting vacation spot that is also considered DX, travel there with friends & family, take along some compact radio […] The post ZF2NR: Another […]

In this episode, Martin is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature is - Upgrading to your next radio by ...

Jupiter Research Foundation Amateur Radio Club (JRFARC) has integrated an HF transceiver with an autonomous ocean-going drone. Our mission is to deploy a ham radio station that roams the world's oceans while providing an opportunity for amateur radio operators everywhere to make contacts with rare locations

In this episode, Martin is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. This episode’s feature is - Upgrading to your next radio by Chris Howard M0TCH